That sounds a lot like my breastfeeding experience with my first, minus the Reglan. My baby did not get back to her birth weight until over a month and only after I began formula supplementation. I smelled like curry powder from all of the Fenugreek, not to mention Goat's Rue and Brewer's yeast. I nursed around the clock and pumped (usually drops, nothing measureable) with a hospital grade pump. I supplemented at the breast with an SNS. I was a huge ball of stress, depressed, and vould not understand my body's failure. After some time I just couldn't deal, and seeing no increase, stopped pumping and using the SNS. I supplemented after nursing with formula in a bottle. One day I stopped the formula, I didn't consult my midwife, the IBCLC or the pediatrician. By weight alone she was failure to thrive but met or exceeded her milestones, I did intro. solids early, probably too early, but I didn't kn8w better back then. I EBF my second, she did a little better but wss still under the norm, and small even at a year and two years, She nursed 3.5 years. My third is a similar story but I stopped stressing. I was really lucky to be able to bring her to work with me so she was able to nurse on demand ( I would never be able to pump frequently enough to work and maintain a supply). I never mentioned our low weight gain to any of the IBCLCs I worked with.

As mentioned in a previous post I have "self diagnosed" myself as having insuffucient glandular tissue. I have all of the physical signs and I feel that because we build milk making tissue with each subsequent pregnancy I have done a little better each time, not to mentinm my conscious decision not to stress myself as long as my babies are healthy.

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Originally Posted by BSWmama

I know what you mean by this as a mom who struggled with supply with my first, and now probably my second child. I can't claim I did everything perfectly, but I had a natural birth, got baby to the breast immediately, soon took Reglan and Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle, I did breast compressions, I pumped after feeding, I drank a lot of water, some beer, I ate plenty of calories, I nursed around the clock, coslept night and day. I saw lactation consultants at the hospital numerous times, had before/after feed weigh-ins, I called LLL leaders. I read A LOT, and cried A LOT. Ultimately, I was able to EBF my son but it was an uphill battle and weight gain was always somewhat an issue. All that that I got from LLL and lactation consultants was, "Well, have you tried this or that?" I felt that they had already judged that I was a total idiot who had "mismanaged" the breastfeeding relationship (and I guess perhaps I had but I was trying sooo hard and reading and obsessing) and I was seriously at a loss, having indeed tried all that already...

OMG you guys are my new BFFs. I'm going through all the same stuff now. My first DD was probably mismanaged because I hadn't received enough information. We nursed around the clock but on the 6th day she had been on my breast for EIGHT hours straight. It was 4 am and I hadn't slept in days. I decided one 2 oz bottle so that we could get a little sleep would be alright (OT but WHY do all the OBs put formula in every new mom's home so its easily accessible in their moment of weakness???) We did ok supplementing tiny bits here and there until one night I got her down, went to bed and we woke up 10 hours later with raging mastitis. The mastitis shut off supply in that breast and I couldn't keep up with only the other side. When giving my history to the LC I mentioned that first formula night she just looked at me like I was an idiot and said "well, why didn't you just put her back to your breast?" Like that thought must not have occurred to me. We did all the supplements, pumps and Reglan which tipped me into such depression I couldn't stand it anymore. She was formula fed by 2 months.

Now DD number 2- I did SO much research, watched videos, read books. We started out great, I set up shop in my chair and expected round the clock nursing, milk came in at a crazy volume. I put about 30 oz in the freezer in the first 2 weeks. Then it dropped into oblivion. I took fenugreek and brewers yeast, I went to a herbalist and had fresh tea made up with everything she could put in there, I made cookies, drank so much water I thought I would puke, ate boxes and boxes of oatmeal, upped my iron intake. LO continued with a whopping 1 oz per week weight gain. She was tiny, gaunt, fell off the charts, didn't interact at all- only ate, slept and cried. We nursed at least 18 hours a day. I EBF until 6 weeks when she started peeing a rusty blood color from the dehydration. I just kept remembering that first LC telling me to put her back on, which I did. I went every week to a lactation weigh in and was told to keep it up. Then that same LC, again, looked at me like I was an idiot and asked why I wasn't feeding my baby (meaning formula this time.) I got a second opinion from a nicer lady and she told me I needed to start offering a bottle after every feed which made her start refusing the breast so now we are SNS feeding...And yet I'm still told its probably all in my head and if I just make sure my latch is always perfect and drink enough water my body will rise to the occasion.